DEAN PROUDFOOT

Long standing and awarded director of Watermark, Proudfoot grew up in the town of Gisborne on the east coast of New Zealand, the inconspicuous city that meets the sun’s first rays ahead of the rest of us.

Drawn to the blurred line where fine art meets its commercial cousin, Proudfoot is also building a name for himself in the fine art world. His paintings appearing in a number of prestigious New Zealand Art collections.

Not one to shirk a challenge, one of his most memorable projects was for social-profit organisation, Starship Foundation, involving 3D eggs standing 1 metre-high, his was infamously stollen with it’s plinth from Aotea Square before being returned unharmed 3 days later. Proudfoot admires Dick Frizzell and Reg Mombassa as examples of creatives who have mastered the fine and commercial art balance. He has been called the short, tubby, bald and bearded twin of Matt Damon, a description he’s not entirely uncomfortable with.